'War-like' cybercrime threatens European growth

State-backed hackers are aiming to create "war-like activities" that could harm economic growth in Europe, the region's cybercrime chief warned on Tuesday.

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The stark warningfromTroels Oerting, head of the European Cybercrime Center and assistant director atlaw enforcement agencyEuropol,comes as governments and law enforcement agencies across Europeare already struggling to contain the threat of cybercrime.

"What we are looking at is state-sponsored activity and it is no secret that we have state-sponsored activities…aimed at starting warlike activity," Oerting said at a speech at the Infosecurity Europeconference in London Tuesday.

A report from Verizon showed cyber-espionage incidents – which see online hackers attempt to access secret information - tripled last year to 511, driven by east-Asian cybercriminals. Meanwhile, a study from PwC found that that thecost of a cybersecurity breach to a leading U.K. companies is getting higher and higher, with costs hitting £1.15 million ($1.9 million) in the last 12 months,a new study shows -- despite the frequency of attacks falling.

"What we see now it has intensified a bit because there is huge appetite for stealing information. This is something we need to look at because this will harm our economy and threaten growth," Oerting told CNBC in an interview following the keynote.

The European Union is attempting to crack down on theconstantly evolvingworld of cybercrime. On Monday, the European UnionAgency for Network and Information Security (ENISA), launched the largest-ever "stress test" of the bloc's capability to withstand a cyber attack.

The so-called "dark web" was also highlighted as a problem area for law enforcement agencies. The dark web is often described as a"secret"internet that is accessed via protective online gateways. Users can stay anonymous while carrying out illegal activities such as purchasing drugs.

Websites such as Silk Road that sold illegal drugs and only accessible via the dark netwas shut down last yearby U.S. authorities.

Oerting said the dark webwasalmost impenetrable by the U.S. National Security Agency and the anonymity of users makes it difficult for criminals to be caught.

"It is very difficult even impossible for law enforcement agencies to penetrate the dark net. Policing will be undercover, but still we cannot make the attribution needed by law enforcement to identify a criminal," Oerting told CNBC.